How to Start a Mastermind Group, Part 2 – Meeting Your Members
Mastermind groups are used by the ultra successful to help them become even more successful. If you're wondering how to start a mastermind group of your own, this 5-part series will show you how to do it!
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Masterminds are a wonderful way to get support for any project you're working on. Call them your board of directors, call them your accountability group, call them whatever you like, but a Mastermind Group is a tool every successful person in history has used to help them achieve their goals.
In order to break down this series on starting a successful mastermind, I've broken it down into manageable chunks.
Part 1 – Determine Your Purpose
Part 2 – Meeting Your Members
Part 3 – Organizing Your Meetings
Part 4 – Boosting Member Engagement
If you want to download all five parts, enter your email below and I'll send you an easy-to-follow guide with complete instructions, tools, and resources. Plus, I'll send you an early notice about my next mastermind group!
People: Who Should Be in Your Mastermind
You've got to get this part right. If you're people are bad, your mastermind will fail.
If you have to convince someone of the value of a mastermind, they're not ready to join one (Tweet that).
It's not that you'll never have to persuade someone to join you. But, you don't want the uphill and futile battle of convincing someone that a mastermind will help them achieve their goals.
Jim Collins' philosophy about getting the right people on the bus and the wrong people off the bus applies to your mastermind. If you want to be successful, you have to get the right people together, and THEN, figure out where you're going.
Here are a few ways you could bring your members together.
By Goals – People with similar goals can collaborate together and create healthy competition. If you're all focused on moving forward, you can build great momentum.
By Background – Members of a similar background can share old war stories and motivate one another with the desire to never go back.
By Experience – My first mastermind was full of people John and I had met at New Media Expo. A few of us had met before, most hadn't.
However you decide to build your mastermind group, be intentional about keeping things positive. A negative person will poison your group like the rotten apple spoils a barrel.
If you set it up right, the members of your mastermind group will become your friends. You'll laugh together, have a drink (or drinks) together, face challenges and achieve life-goals together.
Part of my Mastermind at Podcast Movement in 2014
Two Types of Groups
Another way to set up your mastermind group is to think of it as “We're in it together” versus “Let me learn from you.”
The “We're In This Together” Group – If you set up your mastermind as a group of people in the trenches fighting as brothers, your best bet is to do host this group for free. Until you're a few steps ahead, you'd be better off having people in your corner than charging them for the privilege.
Everyone should be in two mastermind groups. One like I just mentioned, where you're going through it and fighting the fight together. The other should be one where you're there to learn and contribute, as opposed to leading.
The “let me learn from you” mastermind group is harder to set up, but could lead to insane results for your growth. If you meet with people who are further down the path than you, you'll see how they think and learn how they learn.
Plus, you might be surprised by who would be interested in joining your mastermind group. If you have something to offer (and you do!), you'll attract the right people.
Size of Your Mastermind
When it comes to the number of people in your mastermind group, keep it between 4 and 6. You and three others is the minimum, and you and five others is the soft maximum.
I've had mastermind groups with two other people and it didn't work out so well. If one person missed, the meeting was just a chat. Plus, the saying of “Three's a crowd” applies here too. I've tested it and three people isn't enough.
On the other end, seven is approaching too much. If you're doing a good job keeping everyone active and giving everyone a chance to speak, six is a perfect number.
Three members isn't enough and seven is too many.
If your mastermind has six members and meetings last an hour, everyone talks for ten minutes. If you have seven, that equates to just under nine minutes per person and at that point the universe begins to unravel.
Four to six members seems to be the sweet spot. Any more and meetings become crowded and tend to divide, any less and there's not enough energy.
Making it Work
Last but not least, if you're not excited, the other members won't be either.
Are the people you're inviting to your mastermind people you want in your life?
You and your fellow members will share the details of your life with one another. It may not happen immediately, but you'll end up sharing your hopes, dreams, and even struggles, with the people in your group.
If there are conflicts of personality, it won't work.
If people aren't supportive and encouraging, it won't work.
Done poorly or hastily, your mastermind can be a powder keg waiting to blow. Done right, your mastermind will be the catalyst that takes each member to new levels of success and propels them on their mission.
How I do it: I tried a mastermind group with two members (plus myself) and I didn't care for the dynamic. There wasn't enough energy between the members to create a lively discussion.
I currently host two paid mastermind groups. In one, I have four total, in another I have three. I prefer to keep the groups small so we can focus on helping everyone achieve results and no one gets lost in the crowd.
I match my members by similar goals, not background or experience. I want them to meet people outside their own industry so they can see how “outsiders” view their business models and ideas. So far, this has been an excellent strategy.
In the end, think about your mastermind group as your company. Get the right people on board before you get started, and continually remove the negative influence of doubters and skeptics.
To Read “Part 3 – Organizing Your Meetings” Click Here
Or, download the entire How to Start a Mastermind Series plus the Checklist, by entering your email below!
Photo credit: Will Scullin / Source / CC BY
